5 Moves to Kick Off Your Morning

I've never been a "hit the ground" running kind of girl. It's not that I sleep in late or shutter at the sunlight; I just like to lay in bed and enjoy the warmth of my cozy down comforter before allowing my toes to touch the floor. With the chillier shorter days playing into my lazy hand, I've started doing some morning stretches right under my covers that are almost having me hopping out of the sheets and into my jogging shoes. Come check out the simple moves you can do to get your morning started.

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From Head to Toe
Reach your hands above your head and point your toes out as long as they go. It will feel like you’re a few inches taller and a few pounds lighter. After you finish this stretch, you’ll be able to swing your legs around and announce, “Hello world!”

Knees Up
One of the most basic of all stretches, the knees to chest motion can get the joints juiced up and the muscles activated. Bring one knee to the chest and hold it for a few seconds. Switch to the other leg. Repeat the set three times. Hug both knees together for the last stretch.

Legs up
Don’t stay horizontal. Throw your legs up against the headboard to get your blood flowing in a different direction. If you want a more intense hamstring stretch, you can scissor kick your legs with your flexed feet.

Make Like a Snake
If you wake up on your stomach, you can easily tilt your head up and lift up onto your elbows for a cobra stretch. After holding a few seconds in the pose, you can drop the chin down to the chest and roll your head from side to side giving your neck muscles a nice wake up call.

Side to Side
Get back to the basics with a simple side stretch. Take a deep breath, open up the rib cage and give the ol’ hamstrings a little oxygen. Bring it back to the center and bend forward reaching toward the edge of the bed. When the last exhale is over, crawl your way out of bed and get your day started!